Harry was pressing forward in his seat again. ‘Well, I can’t say how pleased I was to hear from you again. You know I’d be thrilled to work with you.’

‘I’m glad to hear it, Harry,’ Miles beamed. ‘And I believe you’re the woman for the job.’ Miles put his beer down, carefully squaring the coaster beneath it as he leaned towards Laura. ‘I’m looking for someone who can put her heart and soul into it, Laura. We’re talking budgets in excess of three million for TV alone.’

She held her breath, the air tightening in her throat. That was three times the amount Coopers were spending on their TV campaign. Harry was right. They win this pitch, and Miles’s business would be huge. She had little experience in financial services, and none in start-up banking, but she could learn.

‘So what do you think, Laura? I take it Harry’s told you all about the business.’

‘He has. And I can do whatever it takes,’ she replied.

Miles nodded. ‘We have tight deadlines. For a start, we want our first TV ad to air sometime in September.’

‘That soon?’ she asked.

Miles nodded. ‘Think you can do it?’

‘I mean, it’s a very tight timeframe,’ she said. ‘I don’t …’ She paused, glancing at Harry, who was looking at her, encouragingly.

‘Of course we can,’ he finished for her.

‘Yes, of course,’ she smiled, though a number of things flashed through her head: concepts, plans, actors – there was a lot to put together in a short space of time, and that was even before they started filming and talking to the media buyers. She could already picture herself working round the clock through the long days of summer to get it done. What the hell would Nate say? How did she actually feel about it?

An image of Bobby sprang into her head; a flash of guilt. There was no way she could take it on, she thought, flexing her hands, which were beginning to numb. But at the same time she couldn’t ignore the fizz of excitement in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t experienced that feeling in a very long time.

‘Of course I need you to tender for the business first. Have to do everything by the book.’

There was a pause before Harry readily agreed. ‘Completely. Of course.’

She wondered if he hadn’t been expecting this, because they both knew what it meant. Spending the next few weeks working her arse off to put together a tender, which might not even get accepted. But if she didn’t put in the work, they wouldn’t get it. Laura hated tendering for business. It was a thin line between working for free and proving you deserved the job.